My kid is the best kid in the world (and I can prove it)

My ‘Before She Leaves’ List

Ah, Bucket Lists.

Most of us have one, and whether it’s been written and shared with all and sundry or is kept and ticked off mentally is doesn’t matter. The great thing about Bucket Lists is that, in their simplest forms, each item on the list is a goal. Each goal is something that raises the bar on your own expectations of life and what it means to live fulfilled.

I read a story last week of a list of another sort though. It’s a list of goals and experiences that a parent wants to live through with their child before the little person they raised becomes an adult and moves away. It was called a “Before She/He Leaves List” – and it really got me thinking about what I want to experience with my daughter before she flies the proverbial coop.

There are so many things I want to teach my daughter, to do and see and live through with her. So much more discovering to do side by side.

I often look beyond our everyday life. Beyond school and work and meals and laundry…you know, the typical stuff. I dream of where we’ll voyage to in our lifetimes together. My own mother and I are as close as two people could ever be. We’ve traveled the world. We’ve laughed and cried together thousands of time. So my biggest hope is to forge a relationship of trust and fun with my own girl.

Quite often my Little Miss and I lay down on the grass and stare up into the sky and dream about things we see in the clouds. Some are completely fantastical creatures only alive in imaginations, but other shapes are places, faces and travels we’re yet to undertake together.

More than anything I love seeing the wonder and fascination in my daughter’s eyes when she discovers something for the first time. I breathe just as deeply of the moments of awe and inspiration as she does. And, most of the time, I see things from a completely different perspective than I ever did.

So, with discovery and companionship as the top players in our life together, here are the top 10 things I’d like to experience with my daughter before she leaves home: